


overcast

by vonseal



Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, also yes death but it has a happy ending i guess?, i'll return to only cutsie patootsie mess after this, its not as angsty as you might think i promise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-22
Updated: 2017-01-22
Packaged: 2018-09-19 07:14:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9425141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vonseal/pseuds/vonseal
Summary: Kim Myungjun had no scars, making him both perfect and an abnormality.





	

**Author's Note:**

> i tried to write angst but idk i doubt it actually worked.

Dongmin prided himself on having very little scars.

He had some on his leg, and he remembered receiving them when he was a child. “Did you finish your homework?” his mother would ask, and Dongmin would lie. It wasn't until he became a bit older, a bit wiser, that he learned the benefits of telling the truth, and thus the amount of scars on his legs slowed down to a minimum. In his adult life, he found that he wasn't gaining any new scars on his legs.

However, in his adult life he _did_ gain new scars on his arms. He would lie to his friends and they were ecstatic when they noticed new scars form on his skin, faint white lines cutting into his already pale complexion.

It came to the point where he would refuse to answer them, because they already _knew_ the answer to their question, and they were absolutely delighted when he stayed silent to the words, “Do you have a crush on Bin?”

It wasn't any of their concern whether or not he did, but he learned by now that his friends were rather nosy.

But he couldn't help his crush on Bin. Bin was kind and sweet and funny and had the most endearing smile that Dongmin had seen. Everyone seemed to understand _why_ he had a crush on Bin, and one day he overheard one of Bin's friends ask, “Do you like Dongmin?”

Bin blushed and stayed silent and Dongmin couldn't help the giddiness that rose up inside of him.

Still, after they finally confessed their feelings for each other, Bin wasn't quite ready to date him just yet. “You have to get the approval of my roommate,” Bin determined. “Which you totally _will_ , he's just my best friend in the entire world and he's got to like you first.”

It made sense. Dongmin wasn't going to do the same, but he had heard Bin discuss his best friend a multitude of times, to the point that Dongmin was certain that Bin's friend was basically a brother to him, so it made sense.

They met in a cafe, small and warm and smelling of coffee and vanilla and other spices that Dongmin couldn't quite name. Bin's friend was sitting in the corner table, and Dongmin recognized him from Bin's immense stash of selfies, but there was someone else there who Dongmin had never seen before.

“Hey, Minhyuk!” Bin greeted his friend first, sitting down at their table with a wide smile. Dongmin sat beside him and smiled politely to Minhyuk, but his gaze was quickly drawn to the other boy.

The boy was shorter than any of them, including Minhyuk, but then Bin introduced them: “Minhyuk, Myungjun-hyung, this is Dongmin!”

Dongmin didn't peg the boy as someone _older_ than him, not with such a youthful face, but he recovered from his shock quickly and stuck his hand out. “Hello. Nice to meet you.”

Myungjun grinned widely. His lips stretched out across his face revealing perfectly white teeth, and it wasn't nearly as endearing to Dongmin as Bin's smile was, but Dongmin chalked it up to the fact that he was in love with Bin and not Myungjun. Besides that, Dongmin wondered how much of Myungjun's smile was true and genuine; he looked like pure sunshine, but there were clouds there, dark clouds that threatened to hide the rays of sunlight should circumstances allow.

But then Dongmin blinked and Myungjun was shaking his hand with vigor. “Nice to finally meet you! Bin's talked about you so much!”

“Oh.” Dongmin wanted to say _likewise_ , but Bin had never once mentioned having a friend named Myungjun. He cleared his throat instead of saying anything, and his eyes traveled down to their hands, still posed in a handshake.

Dongmin prided himself on telling the truth a great majority of the time. Still, those scars marred his skin slightly, some of the scars larger than others, and thus labeling him as _normal_ in the eyes of society.

Myungjun's tan skin didn't reveal any imperfections, any marks, any scars whatsoever, and Dongmin's eyes widened. The boy caught sight Dongmin's expression, and his hand jerked back suddenly, joining his other hand in resting underneath the table and hiding his skin from view. Tension filled the air, and both Bin and Minhyuk seemed to notice.

“Myungjun-hyung tells the truth a lot,” Minhyuk quickly explained. Dongmin didn't miss Myungjun's grimace, though Myungjun _did_ hide it well.

Their eyes didn't meet for the rest of the outing.

* * *

“What's this one from?”

“I don't remember.”

“Oh. What's this one from?”

Dongmin sighed in exasperation, but he couldn't help feeling instantly at ease upon seeing his boyfriend's goofy smile. “I don't remember each and every lie I've ever told, Binnie. Do you?”

“Nope! That's way too many to keep up with.” Bin sat up straight in his seat, fingers moving away from tracing over the scars on Dongmin's arms. “You have a lot less than I do, though. You must be super duper honest.”

Dongmin regarded Bin's own scars with slight curiosity. “Well, you don't have as many as other people I've seen before.”

Bin laughed. “Yup! I'm pretty average, I guess, aren't I?” He nudged Dongmin's shoulder. “But _you_ must be in the top tier of honest people.”

Maybe Dongmin shouldn't have said it. He usually thought before he spoke, but this came out of his mouth without him even realizing it: “Like that guy you're friends with? Myungjun?”

Bin's eyes lost their laughter, but the smile stayed on his face. It was forced, which was something Dongmin had yet to see from Bin, and he felt a tug on his heart, an inquisitive desire to understand exactly what the secret was behind Myungjun.

“I saw his arm,” Dongmin explained. “When we met him and Minhyuk and we shook hands. He has no scars that I can tell.”

Bin's smile was fading now. Bin had always been bad at hiding his emotions, ever since Dongmin met him, and today seemed as if it was no exception. “He tells the truth a lot,” was what Bin said.

“That's what Minhyuk said.”

“And it's true.”

Things fell silent, and Dongmin sat there in confusion. “I hardly lie, and yet I still have scars on me. Everyone lies, Binnie. I'm certain he's had to have lied at some point or other in his life. Children lie all the time. It's not even the child's fault, but-”

“He has more on his legs.”

Dongmin stared at Bin. Bin winced, and Dongmin grit his teeth down. “Did you just lie about that?”

Bin glanced down at his arm – a small scar had appeared, and Dongmin noticed it. The new scars were easier to spot, brighter against the skin, and a sure sign that a lie had been told recently.

“I hate this,” Bin mumbled under his breath. “I hate living in a world where your lies appear as scars. Why do we have to remember each and every lie we ever tell? What if it was a mistake? What if it's a constant reminder of something terrible we've said or we've done?”

Dongmin had seen Bin's scars. Dongmin had seen all of them. Dongmin didn't know that Bin had any scars that signified something terrible. The terrible lies appeared as large scars; Bin's scars were small, the after-effects of simple lies told without ever thinking about it, lies similar to, “of course I didn't eat the last cookie,” and, “I went to class today, I didn't skip.”

“You're not talking about yourself, are you?”

Somehow, this was about Myungjun. It was all about Myungjun, someone who had no scars, and yet Bin seemed upset somehow, defeated in a way, about scars and Myungjun. But Bin didn't answer his question. Instead, he asked, “Can we not talk about Myungjun when I'm trying to be all sweet and gooey with you, Dongmin?”

But Bin's aversion made Dongmin all the more curious. Still, he nodded his head anyway and pretended that his mind wasn't wrapped around the Myungjun mystery anymore.

* * *

His Internet search history was guarded safely from Bin. If Bin came by and needed to use the computer, Dongmin would quickly find something for them to do. It usually involved kissing, because Bin never rejected any of the kissing, and luckily that worked for him.

Bin joked once, “It's like you have porn on here that you don't want me to see,” and Dongmin had snorted and rolled his eyes.

Perhaps Bin would have taken _that_ better than he would have if he saw Internet searches on _how can someone have no scars?_ Bin never seemed to appreciate when Myungjun's scars (or, rather, the lack thereof) were brought up around him. He would become defensive, or else change the subject, and Dongmin counted several new scars appear on Bin's skin as he attempted to lie for his friend's abnormality.

In desperation to figure out the truth of Myungjun's status, he posted his question on a forum. It didn't take long before receiving answers.

_Pics or it didn't happen._

_lol thats impossible. everyone has scars._

_Maybe hes an angel or some other mythical creature._

All of them were stupid, and Dongmin was an idiot for relying on the Internet in the first place. He wished Bin would tell him something, some sort of information, but Dongmin had learned better than to bring up Myungjun around him.

Minhyuk was someone else who seemed close to Myungjun, but whenever Dongmin was near Minhyuk, so was Bin.

He was losing all hope of ever figuring things out, and then hope smacked him right in the face – literally.

So much for trying to shop and mind his own business. He never expected a hand to fly out of nowhere and hit his nose. A few other grocery store customers turned their heads as he gasped loudly and stumbled backwards, and then a higher-pitched voice was right near his ear. “Oh my gosh, I'm _so_ sorry! I didn't mean to do that, I was just telling my friend about my day and I didn't know you were right there, are you okay, is your nose broken, do I need to pay for surgery-?”

“Sanha, give him some space. You'll suffocate him.”

Dongmin didn't recognize the voice of the man who hit him, but he _certainly_ recognized the voice of the other person. He peeked through his hands and saw that it _was_ Myungjun standing there, along with some ridiculously tall kid who seemed like a giant when standing beside Myungjun.

It was an odd pair to see, but the tall kid, Sanha, wasn't at the forefront of Dongmin's mind at the moment.

Myungjun seemed to suddenly recognize Dongmin as well, for his eyes grew wide and he ceased his efforts in trying to save Dongmin from suffocation.

It took a few seconds for someone to say anything, and Sanha broke that silence. “A-Anyway, I'm real sorry. Are you okay?”

Dongmin's eyes snapped back to Sanha. “Ah, yes. Yes, I'm fine. I'm alright. Just make sure you watch where your arm is swinging next time, okay?”

Sanha nodded sheepishly. “Right. Sorry, again.”

“He's too excited for his long limbs.” Myungjun had suddenly spoken up, drawing Dongmin's gaze right over to him again. This time, Myungjun wasn't looking away. “He grew, like, ten feet in a day and he doesn't know how to handle it. And _how_ many years has it been since you've grown, Sanha?”

Sanha scoffed and crossed those ridiculously long limbs over his chest. “We shouldn't get into an argument about age, Hyung, because then I'll just tell everybody that you're really, really _old_.”

“Better than being a baby like you.” Myungjun rolled his eyes, then gestured to Dongmin. “Dongmin, right?” Dongmin nodded his head slowly. “Sorry about that. I'll try to teach him how to control his body properly one of these days.”

Dongmin nodded once more, and then his mouth betrayed him once more: “Hey, Binnie was talking about you and I thought that maybe you could come over for dinner one night at his place?”

Myungjun had a tight grip on the grocery basket he was carrying. Sanha seemed to pick up on the obvious tension, but he said nothing. He only observed, eyes betraying his caution as they flicked back and forth between Dongmin and Myungjun.

“You're inviting me over to Bin and Minhyuk's apartment?”

Well, when Myungjun put it _that_ way, it did seem rather odd. Dongmin's story wasn't entirely false, though; Bin _had_ spoken about Myungjun, and Dongmin _did_ do the thinking about inviting Myungjun over (never mind if the thinking only came about the moment Dongmin's mouth opened). Because he wasn't exactly lying, he stuck to the story. “They like you, so I'm sure they won't mind having you around.”

Myungjun raised his eyebrows. “When Bin invites me himself, then I'll come.”

He started to walk away, Sanha trailing behind him, and, once more, Dongmin spoke and didn't think. “What if I invite you to my place?”

Myungjun glanced over his shoulder, a daring expression now taking place of his initial wariness. “I don't think you will.”

Dongmin forced his mouth and voice to shut up for this round. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders and glanced over at the meats. He heard Sanha whisper, “Is that Bin-hyung's boyfriend?” and then they were walking too far for Dongmin to hear the rest.

Dongmin made up his mind; he was going to befriend Myungjun and figure out what was going on.

* * *

“I ran into Myungjun.”

Bin about dropped the plate he was washing, and Dongmin heard Minhyuk's game pause in the other room, the soft background music seeping into the kitchen where Dongmin was helping Bin with dishes. Truth be told, he never meant to tell Bin of his encounter with Myungjun, but the more he thought about it, the weirder it was. Myungjun just didn't _seem_ perfect. He didn't _seem_ like he was trying to carefully watch his words as Dongmin did, and yet he never lied? It didn't make any sense, and Dongmin wanted to figure it out.

“I think,” Bin slowly started, “that you've become obsessed with Kim Myungjun.”

Perhaps he had. Dongmin tried to ignore the disbelief in Bin's eyes as his boyfriend glared over at him. “I don't know why. I'm just curious.”

“I told you that Myungjun just doesn't lie.”

“Everyone lies.”

Bin passed his dish over for Dongmin to dry. “Have you ever thought about the fact that maybe you're so obsessed with Myungjun because he actually doesn't lie, whereas you try your best and you still have scars?”

Dongmin was frowning and he slowly wiped down the plate he had been given. Was it jealousy? It could have been. Dongmin was an easily jealous person, and it certainly wasn't a far-fetched idea for Bin to ask as much.

“Maybe,” Dongmin mumbled, and Bin smirked.

“Well, I'm in love with _you_ , Dongmin. I'm in love with you and all of your scars, each and every one of them. I love you and those imperfections. I'm not with you because I think you're cool for not lying, I'm just with you because I love you.”

“I wasn't jealous because I was afraid you would love him over me,” Dongmin fussed, but he had a delightful blush on his cheeks from Bin's admission. “I think...I've worked so hard to ensure I don't lie much at all. I don't like it when I see new scars appear on my skin. I know it's normal in this world, but I want to be someone _above_ normal. And Myungjun has achieved that, and I don't think he's trying as hard as me.”

“Myungjun is...” Bin smacked his lips together, as if trying to gather his thoughts. “Myungjun isn't normal, I guess we can safely say. He's always been different. He was always happy and cheerful. Nothing he ever said was a lie. He said what was on his mind, and if it was something that would hurt someone, he wouldn't ever say it. He wouldn't _lie_ , he would just choose not to answer certain questions, but most of the time he did tell the straight-up truth.”

Dongmin took a few seconds to process this information, but something about it still didn't suit him. “You, um, you used past-tense there.” When he brought that up, Bin seemed to freeze. “Why did you use past-tense?”

Minhyuk's video game was still paused. Dongmin knew he was eavesdropping. The apartment was small, and Minhyuk could hear everything with how low the volume was for his game.

Bin cleared his throat and scrubbed at another plate. “I'm going to take a leaf out of Myungjun's book and just not answer you here.”

“Has Myungjun ever lied before?”

Bin wasn't answering, and Minhyuk suddenly popped his head in the opening of the kitchen. Dongmin glanced over at him and was surprised to see how angry he looked. “Hyung, I like you and all and I think you're perfect for Bin, but can we drop the whole Myungjun thing for once? Please?”

Bin stared at Dongmin expectantly, and all Dongmin could do was nod. Minhyuk seemed satisfied enough with that and retreated back into the living room, the sounds of battles and gunshots now ringing throughout the apartment.

They finished the dishes in silence.

* * *

The third time he met Myungjun was right back at the cafe from the first time. He had gone in for a quick coffee before work, but when he caught sight of Myungjun sitting in that back corner, he decided that he could stand to be a couple minutes late for work.

He gathered all confidence available and walked himself over to the table. Myungjun glanced up when Dongmin was sitting down, and the shorter boy looked surprised.

“Good morning, Myungjun,” Dongmin greeted.

Myungjun said nothing.

“Look, I think we got off on the wrong foot.” Dongmin held out his hand. “My name is Lee Dongmin. Nice to meet you.”

Myungjun regarded the hand with extreme distaste. “What, you going to ogle at my arms again? You can't do that. I have a hoodie on this time.” As if to prove his point, Myungjun held up his arms. The hoodie sleeves were too big and went past his hands.

“I didn't ogle at them the last time.”

The lie came out before he could stop it, and Dongmin winced. A new scar had formed, small and thin and on his forearm. Myungjun was smirking at him.

“Oh, but you were. Your body says you were. Doesn't it suck to have to get scars whenever you lie?” He sipped at his coffee before continuing. “You have a lot less scars than other people, though. You must be an honest guy most of the time.”

“Yeah.” Dongmin rubbed at his arm where the scar had come up. “What about you, though?”

It was obviously a sore spot for Myungjun. But the lack of scars should make Myungjun proud, not make him tense whenever it was brought up. If Dongmin had no scars, he wouldn't mind people looking at him. Perhaps it was vain or selfish, but it was more of a personal goal rather than one to get him noticed by others. He wanted to be proud of his own achievements of telling the truth all the time.

Why would Myungjun be so upset for having such a sought-after trait of honesty?

“I guess I'm pretty honest, too.” Myungjun sighed and set his coffee cup down on the table. “Why are you sitting here, anyway?”

“I'm jealous,” Dongmin mumbled, and Myungjun perked up.

“Excuse me?”

“I've always tried being like you.” Dongmin gestured at Myungjun's hoodie-covered arms. “You don't ever lie. You always tell the truth, and I've worked my entire life to tell the truth. But being a kid really screwed me up because kids have no common sense, and then I fell in love and I tried to deny it to everyone.” He sighed, allowing his posture to droop slightly. “So I'm just interested in how you do it, Myungjun.”

Admitting such a thing seemed to actually put Myungjun more at ease. He relaxed in his seat and shrugged his shoulders. “Easy. I just didn't talk much as a child, and by the time I did start talking, I was brutally honest. I finally managed to balance it out when I got a little older.”

“So you've never lied at all?”

Myungjun simply stared at Dongmin, and when there was no answer, Dongmin was reminded of what Bin had said; when Myungjun couldn't answer without lying, he didn't answer at all.

Myungjun had lied before. But if he had, then where was the scar? True, Dongmin hadn't seen every inch of Myungjun, hadn't examined him for any small scars, but both Bin and Minhyuk seemed to be implying that Myungjun truly _didn't_ have any scars.

But then if Myungjun wasn't answering, did that mean he _did_ have one?

“You're confusing me.” It came out of Dongmin's mouth in a slight whine, and he wished he could have taken it back. However, Myungjun simply smiled, a tad bit more brightly this time, and shrugged his shoulders again.

“I'm pretty good at that, I guess.”

“So you won't tell me?”

Myungjun shook his head proudly, and with a defeated sigh, Dongmin stood up from his seat. “I have to go to work. It was nice talking to you anyway, Myungjun.”

He hadn't even taken a step when Myungjun suddenly asked, “So when were you going to invite me over for dinner?”

Dongmin stopped and glanced over his shoulder. Myungjun was smiling, and yet it never reached his eyes. Myungjun was the sunshine, but he wasn't shining to his full potential. Dongmin wondered why.

“Soon,” came the answer before Dongmin left again. Myungjun didn't call him back.

* * *

_Soon_ for Dongmin meant the very next day. He managed to convince Bin that he wasn't going to ask any questions or say anything rude. “He seems nice,” Dongmin explained, “And I just want to get along well with your friends. I'm getting along with Minhyuk, aren't I?”

Bin relented and handed over Myungjun's phone number, though he made certain Dongmin knew that he was going to do an entire run-down of the dinner with Myungjun to ensure that no boundaries were overstepped.

That was just as well with Dongmin. He was truly _interested_ in Myungjun, both because of his jealousy and because he was simply curious as to how Myungjun lived. If they could become friends, perhaps he would then be privy to the same information that Bin and Minhyuk were privy to.

He didn't expect Myungjun to agree for dinner, however. Myungjun _knew_ of the underlying motives, and yet Myungjun, in a chipper voice, said, “Sure! I'll be there around six!”

Now that he had gotten this far, Dongmin was unsure about what action to take next. He made dinner, he set the table, but he still found himself getting nervous as he awaited Myungjun's arrival. How was he supposed to converse with a man who had never told a lie before? How was he supposed to try and prove that he was just interested in Myungjun as a person, and that he truly did wish to become friends?

These thoughts stewed in his mind until the doorbell rang.

Myungjun was grinning widely and holding up a bag of oranges when Dongmin answered the door.

“What's this?”

“Oranges.”

“Oh. I mean, I see that, I was just wondering why you brought them.”

Myungjun shrugged his shoulders and stuff the oranges in Dongmin's hands. “It felt weird to come to someone's house without bringing a gift.”

Dongmin looked over the fruit in confusion. “ _Oranges_?”

Myungjun didn't look apologetic at all, and he didn't answer Dongmin's inquiries. “Wow, you have a pretty nice place,” he commented, shedding his jacket and tossing that at Dongmin, as well. “I mean, it's bigger than mine. I should be your roommate.”

Dongmin scowled as he straightened the jacket out and laid it down on his couch. “I don't think that's a good idea.”

“Aw, you're no fun.” Myungjun laughed lightly and crossed his arms over his chest. Dongmin wished he could take another look at Myungjun's skin, but the shorter man came prepared with long sleeves. And when he saw Dongmin's eyes trail over his arms, he smirked. “You're so easy to read, Dongmin.”

“Excuse me?” Dongmin's eyes snapped back up to meet with Myungjun's.

“I'd rather you not ask about my perfect skin today,” Myungjun continued. “Instead, let's just eat. I came here for dinner, and I want dinner.”

He had been caught, and rather than lie and create more issues for himself, he gave a small, “Sorry,” and hurried over to serve their dinner.

For the first few minutes, the meal was a quiet affair, save for the slurping of the noddles over from Myungjun. Dongmin didn't exactly prepare any questions concerning anything other than the scars, and now he was floundering. Luckily, it was Myungjun who finally decided to speak.

“Bin says you're pretty good at studying people,” he commented suddenly. Dongmin about dropped his chopsticks. “He says you can look at someone and figure out their emotions.”

Dongmin slowly nodded his head and Myungjun looked at him. “What about me, then? What do you see when you look at me?”

Dongmin concentrated on Myungjun's smile firstly. “You're bright,” he slowly muttered. “You smile a lot, and you're used to smiling, but you're lying without actually lying. I guess scars don't come for lies told with your body, do they?” He didn't miss the look of shock pass over Myungjun's face. “Bin compared you to sunshine once, and when I first saw you, that's what I thought. But you're the sort of sunshine that's hidden by clouds. The clouds are thin, but threatening, and you struggle to shine through, and you manage to fool a lot of people but...but you can't fool people who are in tune with weather and understand that the sun isn't shining to its full potential.”

“Hm.” Myungjun took another mouthful of noddles and waited until he swallowed those before asking, “And are you in tune with weather?”

Dongmin shrugged his shoulders. “I took a meteorology class in college once.”

“And that makes you an expert?”

He didn't respond to that. He simply shrugged his shoulders again and looked down at his dinner. Perhaps he said too much. If he wanted to get Myungjun to like him and trust him, he shouldn't instantly start claiming that Myungjun's happiness was all a lie.

Myungjun sighed, then took a sip of the water in front of him. “I feel like I'm a good judge of character, too. You're jealous.”

“What?” Dongmin blinked. “How am I jealous?”

“Firstly, you told me,” Myungjun responded with a slight bout of giggles. “But I don't think you told me how far deep your jealousy goes. It's a good thing jealousy doesn't cause scars, or else you'd be covered in them. Right now, though,you don't have too many scars. I've seen your hands, and Bin told me before I met you that you don't lie often at all. He says you're a bit abnormal in that regard. And you seem like the sort to aim for perfection, based on everything I've heard, and it bugs you that you can't attain perfection here.”

Dongmin couldn't say anything against Myungjun's observation, because then that would all be a lie. Instead, he stared at Myungjun with wide eyes and tried not to allow himself to show any signs of irritation.

“Am I right?”

Dongmin didn't answer that question, and Myungjun was smiling again.

The smile was overcast.

“Trust me, I'm not someone you should be jealous of.”

“Why not?”

Myungjun pointed his chopsticks at his bowl of noddles. “These are great,” he commented as a way of changing the conversation topic. “You need to invite me over for dinner more often, alright?”

And Dongmin planned to. Despite Myungjun's uncanny ability to uncover Dongmin's jealousy quite readily, Dongmin found the mystery of Myungjun to intrigue him too much to care about his own secrets being exposed.

He wanted to figure out how Myungjun was so perfect and yet claimed he was imperfect.

* * *

Slowly, steadily, Dongmin found himself growing fond of Kim Myungjun. He was different than anyone Dongmin had ever known before. He was full of energy that he never seemed to release, he was full of smiles that he never seemed to feel, and he was full of mystery that he seemed to hold right above Dongmin's head. It was difficult _not_ to be drawn to Myungjun.

Bin was ecstatic, in any case, that his friend and his boyfriend had hit it off so well. “He _really_ likes you,” Bin gushed one day. “Whenever I invite him anywhere now, he always wants you to come along. How do you get on so well with him?”

And Dongmin had no idea. He had his own reasons for liking Myungjun, but he didn't understand why Myungjun liked _him_. He asked one day as he helped Myungjun with his shopping, and Myungjun simply laughed, his sweet, honey-like voice filling the aisle they stood in.

“Do I need a reason, Dongmin?”

He didn't suppose Myungjun did; that was just the sort of person Myungjun was. He never had reasons for anything he did, and he never felt the need to explain himself.

He was different from Dongmin, and Dongmin was different from Myungjun. Perhaps _that_ was the reason they had become so compatible.

They had exchanged social media accounts some time ago, and Dongmin had gone through all of the photos with curiosity. It was more difficult to spot Myungjun's pretend smile in blurry photographs posted online than it was in real life, but Dongmin could tell that the photos from years ago showed a truly _happy_ Myungjun. His eyes were crinkled and it was as if an actual ray of sunshine had taken over Myungjun's body.

But he couldn't tell exactly when those photos stopped. They sure slowed around the start of the current year, mostly becoming photographs of the sky or of some animal Myungjun had found on one of his walks. Nothing was truly explained, and Dongmin felt himself growing frustrated.

Myungjun had a perfect reading on him, but Dongmin only had a semi-complete reading on Myungjun. Any questions he asked went unanswered and Myungjun would pretend as if Dongmin wasn't burning up inside with inquiries.

Myungjun would sometimes invite that tall kid, Sanha, on their outings. Sanha was sweet and funny, and Dongmin could see why Myungjun got along so well with him. There was an age difference, with Sanha in his first year of college, but Myungjun never brought it up. He just stated that they had met when Sanha was in high school and worked a late-night shift at a fast food location, and Myungjun was the tired college student who frequented the joint. “Sanha still had braces on. What a dumb baby, working that late when he was in school,” Myungjun had explained with a laugh.

Soon, Dongmin found that Sanha was also endearing. He wasn't mysterious in any way (he had more scars than Bin did, Dongmin found, and that made him normal), but he was open and had a loud laughter to rival Myungjun's. He sent Dongmin a friend request on social media, and Dongmin accepted without a single thought.

Sanha had more pictures than Myungjun had, most of them selfies. Dongmin scrolled through all of these pictures, only stopping to look when he would spot Minhyuk in the background, or Myungjun at the foreground.

Only one picture truly caught his eye and brought a whole new realm of confusion into his life.

It was further back on Sanha's page, and Dongmin was certain he had skipped over it a few times while going through all of the pictures. It featured Sanha and Minhyuk together, making peace signs and weird duck faces, but the background, though blurry, held two other people.

They were leaned in close together, smiles on their faces and despite it being blurry and possibly a year or two old, Dongmin could _feel_ the immense love the two boys had for each other based on that picture.

What shocked him most was that he could absolutely recognize one of them as Myungjun. His hair was slightly longer, bangs brushed over his eyebrows, but it was clear from that wide grin that it was _Myungjun_.

He had never seen any photos of the other boy. He was just as short as Myungjun was, hair bleached blond, and his eyes were turned up into crescents from smiling so much.

They were in love; or, at least, they had been in love. And the boy seemed very important to Myungjun from the single picture that Dongmin had found, but then where was he now?

Dongmin felt like he was a little closer to penetrating the mystery that was Kim Myungjun.

* * *

He was going to keep this portion of the mystery to himself and try to figure it out later. It would do no good to bring trouble into this relationship when he was finally beginning to earn Myungjun's trust. He figured that if he waited long enough, Myungjun would open up one day.

But Dongmin found that he wasn't patient, and his mouth spoke before his brain gave it permission to. “Did Myungjun ever have a boyfriend with blond hair?”

It was only Minhyuk in the room. Bin had run to do groceries, and Minhyuk was working on homework from his classes. However, upon hearing the question Dongmin posed, Minhyuk dropped his pencil and looked up at Dongmin in shock.

“How...how did you know?”

So it was true, then. Dongmin knew it was, but it felt good to have actual confirmation of that fact. “Sanha and I are friends on social media, and I was going through his pictures. I've never seen that guy before, but he and Myungjun were standing close to each other. I just-”

“You went that far back in Sanha's pictures?”

Dongmin felt rather embarrassed, and he couldn't hide the blush that crept up his cheeks. “I was...I just like to study people. I was simply looking through and I came across that.”

Minhyuk's eyes were wide. “Does Bin know you know? Does _Myungjun_ know you know?”

Dongmin shook his head. “You're the first person I told.”

“I'm going to be the _only_ person you told.”

“What's so bad about him?”

“Nothing is _bad_ about him,” Minhyuk responded. “Yes, they used to date. That's honestly all you need to know. Myungjun can tell you when he's ready.”

Minhyuk picked up his pencil again and started scribbling down answers to his problems. Dongmin watched. “Did they break up?”

“No.”

“Then where is he?”

Minhyuk was gripping the pencil tightly. “Bin never told me that you're a stubborn asshole.”

The words didn't really sting much at all, but Dongmin did fall silent after that. It wouldn't do good to ruin his friendship with Minhyuk.

After a few minutes, Dongmin muttered, “I apologize for that. I just wish I understood Myungjun. Everyone else seems to, but you guys are keeping it a secret from me.”

“Don't take that personally at all,” Minhyuk responded, and it seemed he wasn't as upset anymore. “We were friends with Myungjun for a while. We were all friends when it happened, but we only know because we were around at the time. Myungjun would have never told us if we became his friends later in life.”

Dongmin narrowed his eyes. “When what happened?”

Minhyuk seemed to realize he said too much, and he ignored Dongmin for the rest of the visit. When Bin came home with a bag full of food, Minhyuk retreated into his room and didn't mention Dongmin's sleuthing at all. Dongmin was grateful, because he just knew Bin would fuss at him for uncovering part of Myungjun's secret.

When he checked back on the picture later, however, Sanha had deleted it from his page.

* * *

Myungjun was brutally honest, and Dongmin actually found it refreshing.

“You look ugly today,” Myungjun would announce, and no scars would appear on his skin. Dongmin would then change, and Myungjun would give him a thumbs-up.

“You look like you stuck your head out an airplane window,” Myungjun would comment, and Dongmin would have to go back inside to fix his hair.

No one else was this honest with him. Bin perhaps was, but Bin honestly, truly believed that Dongmin was pretty all of the time. Myungjun was the only person who seemed to let Dongmin know exactly what he looked like, though, and exactly what he thought.

Dongmin had never attempted the brutal honesty that Myungjun did, but after weeks passed and Myungjun still offered no chance to figure out the mystery, Dongmin caved.

“Who was your boyfriend?” he asked one day. Myungjun's face snapped up from the takeout they had gotten late one night.

“What?”

“I saw a photo a while ago, and you were with this guy with bleached hair,” Dongmin explained. “It was on Sanha's page. Sanha deleted it after I found it, so I can't show it to you, but you guys were in love, right? Who was he?”

Myungjun seemed frozen in shock, and something unpleasant crossed his expression. “He...my boyfriend?”

“The blond guy.” He didn't mention that Minhyuk already told him that Myungjun had dated the blond guy before. He would rather not get Minhyuk in trouble for this.

Myungjun put his chopsticks down and cleared his throat. “Oh. Yeah. Um, Jinwoo.”

At least he could now put a name to the face. But he couldn't help the guilty feeling that rushed up inside of him when he noticed how uncomfortable Myungjun looked. Despite his curiosity, he suddenly blurted, “You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to.” He wanted to know, he truly longed to know, but not at the expense of Myungjun's happiness, regardless of how fake it was.

Myungjun accepted his offer and nodded his head politely. They finished the meal with lighter conversation, but Dongmin could tell that Myungjun was more cautious, now understanding just how close to figuring out the truth Dongmin was.

At some point, Dongmin wasn't even sure how much he wanted to _know_ the truth. He had come to cherish his friendship with Myungjun. He loved the laughter and the bright smiles, and even with the knowledge that Myungjun was _pretending_ to be satisfied with life, he still managed to bring happiness about to everyone he met.

Their friendship was why Myungjun seemed to have no issue with allowing Dongmin to stay for a night while his own apartment was being worked on. “Why couldn't you stay with Bin?” Myungjun asked as he set up the couch for Dongmin to sleep on.

“Minhyuk is at exam week, and so he's making sure there aren't any distractions. If I go over, I might be a distraction.”

Myungjun nodded his head wisely. “The walls are thin in their apartment. He could probably hear everything.”

Dongmin took a few seconds to process that, and he lightly smacked Myungjun. “Oh my _god_ , hyung, not like that! Just my presence in general, he said-”

“Oh, come on, we all know what he meant.” Myungjun was laughing, and he winked at Dongmin before setting down a pillow. “Here you go! Might not be as cozy as Binnie's bed, but it'll work for the night, won't it?”

“It will. Thank you so much for letting me stay here.” Dongmin offered Myungjun a smile, and it was returned back to him.

“Not a problem. Just two grown men having a sleepover. Nothing weird about this, is it?”

And Dongmin could only giggle as he plopped down on his bed for the evening.

The couch wasn't uncomfortable at all, he realized. At the very least, it offered him a good night's rest, and it was better than sleeping on the floor or at a local hostel. He was going to have to pay Myungjun back somehow, and he awoke early with the decision that he could make breakfast for the two of them.

First, of course, he did require a visit to the bathroom, and he remembered where Myungjun had pointed when he had shown off his apartment. Dongmin trudged down the hall, yawning and trying to fully wake up.

He didn't even think about knocking until he had opened the door.

The bathroom was slightly fogged up from a recent hot shower and Myungjun was standing there, clad only in pants and just pulling a t-shirt on over his wet hair. Dongmin would have apologized quickly and exited the room, but something caught his attention that made him stare openly.

Myungjun had a scar.

Dongmin had seen court proceedings before. Judges utilized the appearance of scars to help crack down on murderers and criminals and other deplorable people from all areas of the country. Typically, the _guilty or not guilty_ question was enough to determine guilt. Dongmin had seen guilty citizens lie, only to yell out in pain a few seconds later with the appearance of a large scar. The large scars would appear down chests usually, cutting across the area where the heart laid.

Myungjun's scar was large and deep and cut across his heart.

Once the t-shirt was on, covering it up, Myungjun finally noticed Dongmin standing there, and their eyes met. Dongmin looked horrified; Myungjun look equally horrified.

“Wha-” Dongmin started, but Myungjun spoke suddenly.

“Get out.”

His voice was quiet, but Dongmin could detect the shake, the quivering, the border of Myungjun's line. Myungjun was about to cry, and Dongmin knew it was because he had seen something that was probably better left unseen.

“Myungjun-”

“I said _get out_!” Myungjun pointed at Dongmin, and he caught the sight of tears. “I don't want to see you again! Get out of my apartment!”

Before it came to a fight, Dongmin did retreat. He felt numb inside as he grabbed his clothes, and with little regard as to who would see him running out of Myungjun's door in nothing but his pajamas, he left.

He knew his apartment was still closed off, still being worked on, so his feet instead dragged him over to Bin's place, where he solemnly knocked on the door.

Bin answered after a few minutes, and the exhaustion disappeared from his boyfriend's eyes the moment he saw how shocked Dongmin looked.

“Dongmin?”

“I saw Myungjun's scar.”

Bin seemed to stop breathing for a second, and he took a small step back. “You...what?”

“I didn't mean to, I swear. I just didn't knock, and he has a scar-” Dongmin took a shaky finger and drew a line down Bin's chest, tracing over the path that had become ingrained into his mind. “-there.”

Bin was gripping the door tightly, though it was apparent he was more surprised than he was angry. “You...saw?”

Dongmin nodded.

“Did he say anything?”

“He doesn't want to see me again.”

Bin leaned forward suddenly and enveloped Dongmin in a hug, arms wrapping tightly around his back and head resting on Dongmin's shoulder. “Are you okay?”

He didn't understand why Bin was worried about him. Bin _should_ be worried about Myungjun. “I'm fine – will Myungjun be okay?”

“He'll come around.”

Bin gave a small hum and rubbed at Dongmin's back.

“Why does he have that?” Dongmin whispered, and Bin's rubbing stilled.

“You can ask him when he's ready to tell you.”

But Dongmin was piecing a few of the puzzle parts together. He didn't fully understand, not yet, but certain quirks Myungjun had, certain things in his life, seemed to be making sense. “Is it Jinwoo?”

Dongmin could feel Bin swallow nervously, and then his boyfriend pulled back. “Dongmin, I want to tell you, but Myungjun has to. And he will. You're one of his best friends now. Just let him recover from this, okay?”

Dongmin agreed. Besides, he realized as he had asked that he didn't want to hear it from Bin. He wanted to hear it from Myungjun himself. He wanted the mystery to be explained by the most imperfect boy in the world.

* * *

Myungjun wasn't answering his phone. He wouldn't answer for Minhyuk or for Bin or for Dongmin. “He might be talking to Sanha,” Bin had mentioned. “Sanha's probably his best friend out of all of us. Minhyuk and I only became friends with him through Jinwoo.”

“So you two knew Jinwoo?”

Bin nodded, but nothing more was said concerning Jinwoo. Whenever his name was brought up, Minhyuk would excuse himself, either to a bathroom nearby or, if they were at the apartment, to his own room.

Dongmin was certain that something terrible had happened concerning both Jinwoo and Myungjun, but until Myungjun himself would actually answer his phone, Dongmin could only guess and speculate.

Such speculations brought about horrible nightmares and daydreams, though. Dongmin could only imagine the scars he had seen on criminals before, their lies creating gashes in their skin similar to that of the one Myungjun wore on his heart. He wondered what horrendous lie Myungjun had told to create such a scar.

It was the only scar he had, Bin assured him. Myungjun wasn't _truly_ a liar. It was just a lapse of judgement, a simple mistake, something anyone could lie about.

But how could someone as honest as Myungjun ever tell such an awful lie?

He felt lost for a few days until he suddenly received a text from Myungjun. It was simple and short and not full of the usual emoticons and exclamation points Myungjun would normally send.

_Come over around 5pm_

Minhyuk regarded the text with a frown, whereas Bin actually gave Dongmin's back a pat. “He's going to tell you. Isn't that what you wanted?”

“Yeah.”

But it wasn't really. Dongmin wanted to uncover Myungjun's secret, but he didn't want it like _this_. He wanted it to be something easy and simple and silly. He didn't want it to be because Myungjun had a truly dark past concerning a certain Jinwoo in his life.

He didn't want that.

He had to steel himself for a few minutes when he stood at Myungjun's front door. He had to prepare himself and tell himself that he would remain friends with Myungjun regardless of what happened in the past. Whatever had happened, Myungjun wasn't a liar. Myungjun was a fantastic friend and a kind person and he deserved for Dongmin to treat him as such.

When Dongmin knocked and Myungjun answered the door, Dongmin realized he should have prepared himself for the lack of happiness, fake or otherwise, across Myungjun's face. He looked tired and sullen and utterly exhausted.

The first words out of Dongmin's mouth were, “Have you slept at all?”

Myungjun didn't answer, but that was a response enough for Dongmin, and he hurried inside when Myungjun motioned for him to come in. “You're here _right_ at five.” Myungjun struggled to regain some semblance of his former self. “Punctual as always, Lee Dongmin.”

Dongmin ignored that. He was going to get straight to the point and just make sure he got everything over with and continued his friendship with Myungjun. “Hyung, I didn't mean to walk in on you, and I really didn't mean to see that. I wasn't _meant_ to see that, I know, and- oh my god, Myungjun, I'm sorry.”

“I should have locked the door.” Myungjun cleared his throat and gestured over to his couch. “I have tea. Sit down and I'll get you some tea.”

Dongmin bowed his head respectfully and obeyed Myungjun's request. The tea was delivered to him quite readily and it was warm to his throat as he sipped it, the aroma relaxing him slightly. Myungjun sat down beside him, too, his own cup of tea in his hands.

“So you saw it?”

“Yes.”

Myungjun sighed. “Part of me thought I could get away the rest of my life with you never figuring it out.” He brought a hand up to lightly touch his chest, fingers resting right above his heart. “I hate it.”

“You don't have to tell me how you got it.”

“That's so nice of you.” Myungjun leaned back on the couch and stared down at his tea. “Because I know you, and I know you're just burning up inside with curiosity, and I know how much you want to know, but you're something else, Dongmin. This is why Binnie is dating you.”

“Hyung, seriously, you really don't have to.”

“I think getting it off my chest is the best thing to do.” Myungjun put his tea on the coffee table beside him and stared straight ahead, not meeting with Dongmin's gaze. “Right. So, um...I guess I'm going to start with Jinwoo, because he's the center of the story. He was the center of my life, too. We met at the end of high school. He was the new hot transfer student. I was probably the hottest student already, so we had to fight it out for the title of hottest actual student in the school. And then I just fell in love with him. Kind of like when a magician hypnotizes people and he snaps and they just do whatever he asked them to? It was like that. I woke up one day and realized I was in love with Park Jinwoo.”

Myungjun shifted in his seat. “So we started to date. He let me meet Binnie and Minhyuk, and we all became friends. And I honestly think that life was perfect then. Jinwoo had scars, you know. Just a few of them, about as many scars as you have, mostly from when he was a kid. I didn't have any. He thought that was cool, and he kind of was like you in the fact that he appreciated my honesty. But unlike you, Jinwoo actually always looked great.”

“Geez, thanks.”

“No problem, Dongmin. I just look out for people who don't have as good looks as Jinwoo did.” Myungjun gave Dongmin's leg a small pat, then continued. “And sometimes I think it's a little weird how things can be going perfect and then something always has to happen, right? It's _weird_ , Dongmin. It's like we're not allowed to be happy for more than a few years before something bad has to ruin it all forever.”

Myungjun was quiet as he spoke, which Dongmin hadn't seen before. He didn't like the path where this story was heading, either, and he averted his gaze. Even if Myungjun was telling him the story, it still seemed private and personal, and Dongmin didn't want to stare at Myungjun in what appeared to be a moment of weakness. Myungjun was always strong, and Dongmin was going to remember him as such.

“Jinwoo was walking home from my place one night. We didn't live that far away, and I told him – I said I wanted him to call me the moment he got home. We always did that. And so he called and I answered and he didn't seem normal all of a sudden. His voice was different, like he was-was choking or losing air, and he told me that something happened. He said- he said a car hit him. And then he laughed.”

The story paused for a moment, and Dongmin heard Myungjun take a shuddering breath. Dongmin wanted to make him stop talking, because he knew how difficult it must be to relive all of those memories, but Myungjun continued.

“I don't know why he laughed, and I don't know why I didn't rush out instantly, but I was so confused. I-I mean, I thought it might have been this awful, awful joke. I thought Jinwoo might be pulling a prank, as cruel of a prank as that would have been, but I mentioned before that Jinwoo hardly lied. He never would have done that.

“So he laughed again and told me he loved me a lot, and that's when I moved. I didn't even put on my shoes. I just ran, and I took the path I knew he had taken and, and I found a car had swerved somehow, had swerved onto the sidewalk and hit him and he was pinned up against-against a building.”

Dongmin felt sick to his stomach. He wished Myungjun would stop talking. He couldn't even imagine how retelling this story must have felt.

“A bunch of people were already around and some of them were screaming, but Jinwoo wasn't. He saw me and he _smiled_ , and he had blood all over him.”

Myungjun was crying now. Dongmin spared him a glance and wasn't shocked by the tears that had created wet trails down his cheeks. Some of them had dropped against his shirt, creating small, round marks, and others were still lingering on his chin, about to fall but waiting for the right moment. Myungjun was pulling his knees up to his chest and refusing to look at Dongmin.

“And I was so panicked. I didn't know what to do. Someone had called the police and the ambulance, but there was no way- Jinwoo said he didn't feel anything. He just told me he was sorry and he said – he told me he was going to die. Said he couldn't stay with me until we got old like I wanted. He said he wanted to see the sun before he left, though.”

Myungjun's breath hitched again. “Do-Do you know what I said to him? I said to him – I told him, 'You're going to be okay.' And he watched as I gasped for my own breath and as I clutched my chest and he _knew_ a scar had appeared, and he knew it was long and rough and deep, and then he started to cry. I _lied_ to him, and I couldn't tell him anything else. I was in so much pain and struggling to breathe, and I just held his hand as he died right there.”

Dongmin would have preferred if the story ended with pure silence. It would have been better than having to hear Myungjun's sobs suddenly rise up as the boy buried his face in his hands and cried. It would have been better than seeing Myungjun completely break down finally, the weight of guilt forcing him to accept the painful reality that his one and only lie in his life was told to his dying boyfriend.

He didn't know what to say now. He had finally uncovered Myungjun's secret, the thing he had been after since they had first met, and he realized now that he would have rather lived in ignorance. It was too heavy for him to carry, too much for him to understand.

His mouth spoke before his brain could stop it once more, and this time, he felt as if it was actual worthwhile to say. “If it was Binnie, I would have said the same thing.”

Myungjun didn't look up and Myungjun didn't stop crying, but Myungjun _did_ lean into Dongmin, and Dongmin quickly embraced him, holding his friend close to his chest and allowing the crying to continue.

It did continue for a while, but Dongmin was perfectly content to sit there and allow it to stretch on and on. He was willing to be the solid foundation that Myungjun needed at this moment.

When it trailed off, Dongmin continued to rub at Myungjun's back until Myungjun pulled away. He cleaned his face and after a few more sniffles and a few more hugs from Dongmin, declared himself to be feeling much better. “I needed that,” he had mentioned, rubbing at his eyes and taking a deep breath. “I haven't talked to anyone about it except for Bin and Minhyuk and Sanha. I just didn't sob like a baby to them.”

He had pulled out his laptop then, scrolling through all of his saved photos of Jinwoo. “I had to take them down from the Internet,” he commented, stopping on one particular picture of Jinwoo hugging a very excited Myungjun. “After what happened, I couldn't stand looking at what we _used_ to be. I didn't want to be reminded of him anymore. Binnie and Minhyuk and Sanha all took their pictures of him down, too. I never asked them to. They're just amazing friends.” He clicked to the next one, a photo of Jinwoo hugging a large dog. “I think Minhyuk was torn up by Jinwoo's death, too. He really looked up to Jinwoo a lot. They were like brothers, kind of how Minhyuk and Binnie are now.”

Dongmin nodded along to Myungjun's ramblings, paying attention to each and every word. He didn't speak much, save for some confirmation sounds whenever Myungjun asked if he was okay. He just wanted to listen and to step into Myungjun's life for the evening. It brought a pain to his heart, as if _he_ was the one with a scar over his chest, knowing that Myungjun's happiness had been taken away from him in a single instant, knowing that Myungjun had to hold onto his boyfriend and tell one lie before watching him die.

“It explains a lot,” Dongmin finally muttered around three in the morning. Myungjun had the laptop open, but he was leaning on Dongmin, his eyes drooping and sleep threatening to take him over. “It explains why you were overcast.”

“Dongmin?” Myungjun tiredly smacked his lips together and whispered, “You're too in tune with weather.”

Dongmin swallowed past the lump in his throat and glanced over at the laptop. A picture of Jinwoo and Myungjun was displayed, and Jinwoo was looking at Myungjun as if he really was the sun.

* * *

Dongmin began to notice the changes after Myungjun told him the story. Dongmin watched Myungjun carefully and saw the sunshine actually clearing through the clouds. He saw that smile actually _mean_ something, and he realized something had changed in Kim Myungjun's life.

“I think he needed to get it off his chest,” Bin responded when Dongmin brought it up. “He's been stewing over it for a while now, and finally having some sort of neutral third party, someone who never knew about Jinwoo, helped him talk through his own feelings of guilt.”

It made Dongmin proud that he was able to be _that_ type of person for Myungjun. It made him proud that Myungjun was finally smiling because of him.

But, more importantly, it made him proud that Myungjun was overcoming his feelings of guilt on his own. Dongmin hadn't thought he had helped all that much. And Myungjun confirmed as much. “You did practically _nothing_. Which is a good thing. You were just there to lend an ear for me and I need to get through all of this on my own. You just need to keep restating the fact that I'm not a terrible person because of my lie.”

“And you're not.”

Myungjun had shot him finger guns at that, and gave him a wink. “Just keep reaffirming it, alright?”

So Dongmin did. Every night before he went to sleep, he would ensure that Myungjun received a text that would explain as much. Bin even started teasing him for it.

“Contacting your best friend and I'm right here?” Bin asked, rolling over to lay on top of Dongmin's back.

Dongmin gave a small giggle and finished off his text. “You're not the one with crippling guilt.”

“Guess not. How's he doing?”

Dongmin stuffed his phone under his pillow and then turned, managing to dislodge Bin from his back. “I guess he's doing fine. He's been smiling a lot happier recently.”

Bin, too, seemed to be happier, if the crinkling around his eyes from his crooked grin was anything to go by. “Have I ever told you that I think you're perfect and that I love you?”

“A few times, I think.”

“Just a few?”

Bin was pouting, and Dongmin leaned forward to capture Bin's lips in his own. “Yep. You'll have to keep telling me that.”

A few weeks later, Dongmin was asked by Myungjun if he wanted to visit Jinwoo.

Dongmin's response as a delightful, “Huh?”

“You know what I mean,” Myungjun responded, smacking Dongmin's shoulder. “To pay respects, I guess? You don't have to, honestly, I just want to show you off to him.”

And Dongmin agreed. He felt he owed this much to Jinwoo, after all. Despite never having met the man, he had heard Myungjun talk about him often, now that Myungjun was able to talk about him without feeling the guilt weigh down too heavily on his heart, and Dongmin could very well say that he _knew_ Park Jinwoo.

And he liked Park Jinwoo.

Dongmin had originally wanted Bin to come along with them, and possibly Minhyuk, but Myungjun waved it off. “It's a quick visit,” he said. “And they come all the time. We'll just pop in and you can greet him and then we'll leave. I won't spend too much time in there, I promise.”

Myungjun remained true to his word. They reached the columbarium and Myungjun led Dongmin to where Jinwoo's ashes lay in rest. Dongmin replaced the flowers, watched by a smiling Myungjun, and then stepped back and bowed.

“Are you going to say anything?” Myungjun whispered, and Dongmin licked his lips.

“What should I say?”

“Anything.”

Dongmin glanced over at the picture of Jinwoo put up behind the glass, then stated, “I know you're already aware of this, Jinwoo, but Myungjun isn't a terrible person. In fact, I think he's perfect, and I know you do, too.”

Myungjun's smile stayed, and Myungjun faced the picture as well.

“It's my turn to say something.”

“Go ahead, Hyung.”

Myungjun took a deep breath and put a hand up to the glass. “It's all going to be okay now,” he muttered.

Dongmin took his leave first, gathering a few breaths of fresh air before Myungjun came out to join him a few minutes later. Myungjun was just as bright as the sunshine. His eyes were a little watery and his hands were a little shaky, but Myungjun was shining in full force and driving away the clouds.

“How many scars do you have?” Dongmin asked as Myungjun drove them away from the building. Dongmin pressed his cheek up against the window and squinted up at the sky. The sun couldn't shine as brilliantly as Myungjun could.

“Hm.” Myungjun took a hand off the wheel and pressed it to his own chest. “I just have one scar.”

“Then I guess it really is going to be okay?”

Myungjun didn't answer, but when Dongmin stole a peek, Myungjun was grinning widely.

 

**Author's Note:**

> reddit sometimes has fun prompts. this one was, "you live in a world where each lie creates a scar on the person's body. The bigger the lie, the deeper and larger the mark. One day, you meet someone with only one scar; it's the biggest one you've ever seen." i had this idea in my head for a while and i didnt want to write it because i suck at angst, but i wrote it anyway so i apologize for this mess i wrote in two days
> 
> check out my happier writings and come bash me in for this [@vonseal](http://www.vonseal.tumblr.com).


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